A very interesting experiment at NYC’s elite Fieldston School:Can Racism Be Stopped in the Third Grade?

A very interesting experiment at NYC's elite Fieldston School:

The form arrived in an email attachment on the Friday after winter break."What is your race?"it asked. And then, beneath that, a Census-style list: "African-American/Black," "Asian/Pacific Islander," "Latina/o," "Multi-racial," "White,"   and "Not sure."

The email, signed by the principal of Fieldston Lower School, urged parents to talk about these categories with their children at home because the next week, in school, the kids would have to check the box that fit them best. "I know there may be some nervous feelings about this program," the email concluded, but "I am confident that once you hear more details about it … the value and importance of this work will become clear." 

The parents at Lower, as it's called, are a bighearted, high-maintenance, high-achieving group. They are also, by the standards of the New York City private-school universe, exceedingly liberal — educators and social workers, as well as hedge-fund tycoons. They love the school, and trust it, mostly. But this communication seized their attention. "I was like, Wait. What?" remembers one mother. Another quizzed her 11-year-old daughter as they were driving. "We have to go in our race groups" was how the girl explained it. The mother hoped her daughter had misunderstood.

Can Racism Be Stopped in the Third Grade?

An experiment at Fieldston, which starts when 8-year-olds are sorted by race, has some very liberal parents fuming.

Lisa Miller, New York Magazine, May 19, 2015

http://nymag.com/scienceofus/2015/05/can-fieldston-un-teach-racism.html